Weft detector for looms



Dec. 20, 1927. 1,653,205

G. FRECHETT ET AL 'WEFT DETECTOR FOR LOOMS Fil'ed Dec. 10. 1926 IIIIIIIIIIII/loa I NVENTOW GEORGE FREQ-i E 1! HERBERTW OWEN f ,AT TO RN Y5 Patented Dec. 20,1927.

UNITED), STAT B5 PATENT, OFFICE;

GEORGE FRECHETT AND HERBERT W. OWEN, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, A8

SIGNOBS TO CROMPTON &' KNOWLES LOOM WORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHU- SETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

.wnrr DETECTOR ron Looms.

Application filed December 10, 1926. .Serial No. 153,963.

This invention relatesto weft detectors for weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the inventionto provide a very simple weft detector formed of a very light moving part which shallhave a sliding movement along a denuded bobbin to give indication of weft exhaustion.

\Veft detectors of side slipping type have gone into extensive use for; the weav ng of certain grades of cloth and as usuallyfniade have a roughenedor notchedrearwar-d extending end to engage the surface tobe detected. hen the weft is substantiallyex lntusted the detector strikes the bare bobbin and moves laterally along and in contact with the bobbin, this motion being possible because the pivotal joint about which the detector moves is offset from the surface which engages the yarn. "Such detectors have positive engagement with alin'k connected to the loom controller and because of this fact the detector must derive enough energy from the advanc ng lay not only to be moved. itself but also" to move the con? troller and linkage therefor. It is an important ob 'ect of the present invention to provide a sidesli'pping detector which shall cooperate .with a normally operative loom controller. so related to the' detector that when the latter slidesalong an empty bobbin the controller will remain in operative positionfth'us relieving the detector of the strainincident to moving the controller and linkage therefor as in the aforesaid types of side'slippingkweft detectors. 1 i

Detectors of the type specified haveheretofore employed a spring orother "resilient device to return the detector to normal position after at detecting movement and 'it has been found necessary to employ a spring strong enough to'move the aforesaid" linkage to the controller.

springto return the detector to normal position without sacrificingprecision of action in conjunction with asupport having. an inclined surface down which the detector may slide after indicating, the slid ng of the detector being aided by the jarringof the- 'a very large lateral movement.

to the 100m controller.

g It is a furtherohcct of the present invention to use: a light vtaohed tothe controller and for this reason i it is not necessary for the detector to have T It is sufiioient for the purposes of the invention to have the controller remain inactive while the detector moves so as to avoid being moved forwardly as a whole on indicating beats. It is found that as the detector rises on the aforesaid incline the roughened surfacethereof not only slides longitudinally along the bobbinbut also moves'u'pwardly along the arc of the barrel of the bobbin so that the detector can travel in two direct-IOHS in order ,toavoid the necesslty of communicat ng the forward movement of the lay It is a more particular object of the invention to provide. adetector readily adapta a bleto the usual form of multi-color sta- ,tionary magazine weft replenishing loom of the type set forth in PatentsNo. 972,722 and No. 1,030,748, both to Ryon. Thesepatent s set forth an actuating floating lever which is given an operative movement on" detecting beats of the loom, the action of the fioatinglever dependin upon the position of the controller pin; I aid pin'is withdrawn from the path of the lever when weft is present and the said lever has an idle movement, but when weft is substantially exhausted the pin will remain under the "floating lever and interrupt the movement thereof so as to initiatereplenishment.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to. provide a detector comprising a single element, preferably of Wire, p1votally attached to the controller .pin and supported in part thereby and in part by a stand provided with the aforesaid'inclined surfaces. The spring customarily employed to hold the controller pin yieldingly' in normal position serves also to'restore the'detector to normal position after each non-indicating detecting beat of the loom- WYiththese and other objects which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention relates to the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is shown,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view showing parts in section, the detector being in normal position,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the detector 6-.6 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged horizontal section on a line 7? of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and .3 it will be seen that the loom frame 10 has mounted thereon the foot 11 of a weft replenishing mechanism preferably, though not necessarily, of' the type shown inthe aforesaid Patent No. 1,030,748to Ryon, said mechanismhaving a transferrer arm indicated at 12 mounted on a stud 13 secured to the frame 11. The transferrer arm may have a pair of depending legs l tby means of which the customary lay engaging latch, not

shown, may be supported.

A stand 20 is secured to the loom frame and has an upwardly projecting horn 21 slotted as at 22 to receive the right hand end of a floating actuator lever 23 pivoted as at 24 to a block 25. Said block reciprocates vertically in an arm 26 of the frame 20 by means of a rod 27 extending downwardly to a cam lever and cam not. shown but located at the bottom of the loom as shown in said Patent No. 1,030,748. The left hand end of said lever has pivoted thereto an upwardly extending rod 28 connected to the replenish- 'ingmechanism not shown but illustrated in the last named'patent, downward movementof said rod initiating replenishment.

Said horn 21 hasa horizontal bore 29 extending across the slot 22 to receive a sliding controller pin 30. The forwardend of said pin is pivotallyconnected as at 31 to the up per end of an arm 32 clamped to a stub shaft 33 'r'otatably mounted in a pair of spaced arms 34 on the stand 20. A collar 35 is secured tothe shaft by means of a set screw and receives one end of a torsion spring 36 the other end of which is received by one of the bearings 34, said spring 36 acting normally to move the controller pin 30 toward the floating actuator lever 23. As shown in Fig. 1 the right hand end of the shaft 33 has secured thereto a short arm 37 which extends rearwardly into engagement with a fixed part of the structure so as to limit backward movement of said controller pin. By adjusting the arm 37 the position of controller pin. 30 may be varied as desired and by varyin'gthe setting of collar 35 the pressure exerted by spring 36 to hold the controller pin in normal position may be increased or reduced. scribed is of'common construction and for a further description of the same reference may be had to said patents.

The present invention relates more particularly to that portion of the device Which engages the yarn or surface to be detected. A light support 50 formed of sheet metal has a table or platform 51 which is shown more particularly in Figs. 3and 6, as slightly'in- I clined downwardly'and toward the controller pin 30. There are struck from said platform a. pair of guides 52 and 53, respectively, the former being longer than and lying to the rear of the latter. The guides are spaced above and are parallel to the top of the platform as shown in Fig. 6. Said support has a depending foot 54 pivoted to a stud 55 rigid with the frame 20. A tension spring 56 interposed between the under side The matter thus far de-' of support as at 57 and a pin 58 secured to the stand 20 holds said support yieldingly downwardly against an adjusting screw 59,

said screw affording means for varying the vertical posit-ion of the rear end of the support. 1

The yarn engaging element comprises a single piece of wire 7 0 the rear end of which is bent as shown in Fig. 1, and provided with notches or teeth71 of such proportion as to embed in the yarn when a sufiicient supply of weft is present. Said detector has a substantially straight forwardly extending portion 72 which passes under the guides 52 and 53 and over the inclined platform 51. Said wire is further bent to the left as at 73 to lie in front of the legs 14. of the transferrer arm and then extends to the left and has formed therein an eye 74.- which is loosely .fitted over the controller pin 30. A collar 75 is secured to the pin 30 and serves to-limit rearward movement of the eye 7 4. the latter being loosely confined between the collar 75 detector in rear position by means of the connect-ion between said detector and the controller pin. Because of the inclination of platform 51 the straightportion of. theidetector will move against the left endof at ver 23 will have a downward idle movement,

leaving rod 28 unmoved. When insufficient weft for continued weaving is present, however, the advancing bobbin will not have holding engagement with the teeth of the de tector and the latter will therefore be free to slide along the bobbin. :Because of the fact that the teeth are offset'from the eye 74 said detector will move to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Asthe lay advances the detector will not only move angularly but will be moved up the inclined surface of the platform 51 and therefore will move over the curved surface of the bobbin B. The detector istherefore ableto accommodate the movement of theradvancing lay in two ways, i. e. by sliding along the bobbin longitudinally and by climbing up the curved surface of the bare bobbin; As the lay reaches the forward position therefor the controller pin will have been unmoved and the actuator lever 23 will be interrupted in its downward movement as to depress rod 28, therebyinitiating replenishment." I

As the lay recedes after a no1i-indicating detecting beat the spring 36 will serve to return both the controller pin and the de tector tothe normal position shownin Fig. l, and after the detector is moved later ally at the time of indication the samewill return to its normal position because of the jarring of the loom and the inclination slot 80 through which the detector passes,

the slot ext-ending, if desired, upwardly in the front wallof the shuttle to permit the upward movement of thedetectorp g Although the invention is set forth in connection with a multi-color'weftreplenishing mechanism of the type shown in the later patent to Ryon previously referred to, yet the invention is not necessarily limited to this form of mechanism. a The detector is equally effective either to initiate replenishmentor to stop the loom.

From the foregoing it' will. 'beseen that the weft detector set} forth herein is exceedingly simple, comprising essentially a single element loosely connected :to the controller pin and deriving part of its support from said pin. It will also be seen that the platform, by reason ofits inclination, tends to return the detector to normal position after the detector to be movedforwardly b tionsmay be made therein by those skilled. in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and we do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed but what we claim is: i

1. In a Weft detector for looms, a side slipping weft detectiiigelement, a support for said element having a vertically inclined surface at the lower portionof which said detector is normally-disposed, and yielding means to" hold said detector in bobbin en gaging position, said detector at the time of exhaustion of weft sliding'along the bobbin' aiidup the inclined surface to give indicationo'f weft exhaustion, said yielding means remaining at rest when the detector rises up the inclined surface, said detector moving down the incline surface to assume normal position aftei'ran indicating movement.

'2. In aweft detector for looms operating with bobbins having cylindrical body portions, aside slipping weft detect-ingelement to engage the bobbin on each detecting beat ofathe loom, a support for said element having a vertically inclined surface at the lower elltl'Of which the detector isnormally located, yielding means to hold said detector in bobbin engaging position, and a normally operative loomcontiollermoved out of controlling position when said element engages a sufficient supply of weft, said detecting element moving along a denuded bobbin and also up said inclined surface and vertically along the cylindrical surface ofthe bobbin, said controller remaining n normal position to indicate weft exhaustion, and said yield- "ing means remaining at rest when the detector rises upthe inclined surface;

of the platform 51. The-shuttle S has a 3. In aweft detector for looms operating with normallyhorizontal bobb ns having cylindrical detector engaging portions, a detecting element movable along the surface to g bedetected at the time of substantial exhaustion of weft, a vertically inclined supportat the lower end of which said detector elementis normally disposed, a forwardly yieldable' member operatively connected to detector to prevent indication of we t exhaustion and remaining at rest when the detectormoves up the inclined and along dicationof weft exhaustion without mov-,

the a and *over a denuded bobbin, said element moving up said inclined surface to give ining the yielding member and being movable down said inclined surfaceto normal position after indication, said movement being facilitated by the jar of the loom as the latter runs.

- 1 4:. In a weft detector for looms, a weft detecting element, a support therefor having an inclined surface at the lower end of which said detector is normally disposed, a loom controller, means. defining an operative loose connection between the element and controller, a single resilient device operatively related to the controller and holding said controller yieldingly in operative position and also holding said detector yieldingly in detecting position, said resilient device yielding on detecting beats of the loom when suflicient weft is present andsaid detecting element moving said controller to inoperative position, and said detecting element moving laterally along the bobbin and up the inclined surface when insuflicient weft is present, said yielding device and controller remainingat restwhen said detectmg element moves up the inclined surface to glve indication of .weft exhaustion.

5. In a weft detectorwfor looms, an actuator to effect a change in the operation of the loom, a controller for said actuator norinally operatively placed with respect thereto, a detector element pivotally mounted on the controller, resilient device to hold the controller and detector yieldingly in normal rearward position, and means defining a vertically inclined surface up which the detector moves at indication of weft exhaustion while the resilient device is at rest, said detector normally lying at the lower, end of the inclined surface and moving down the latter after indication to return to normal position. i

6. In a weft detector forlooms, an actuator to effect a change in the operation of the loom, a controller for the actuator, a detecting element connected to the controller to move'forwardly therewith and formed of normally lies, said detector moving along a denuded bobbin and up the inclined surface to give indication of weft exhaustionwhile the controller remains at rest, sald detector moving down the inclined surface to return to normal position after giving indication,

and a singleresilient device holding said con- (roller. and detector yieldingly in normal position.

7. In a weft replenishing mechanism for looms, a transferrer arm having a portion thereof movable forwardly at the time of transfer, an actuator having a regular movei ment on detecting beats of the loom, a controller for the actuator normally operatively related ,to. the actuator ,to interrupt movement thereof on detecting beats of the loom, a detecting element supported by and pivotally mounted with respectto the controller, said .detector comprising a bent wire having a portion thereof extending in front of that portion of the transferrer arm which moves forwardly. on detecting beats of the 100111, said wire also having a: yarn engaging surface at the rear. thereof offset in the direcator normally lying inthe prescribed pathya weft: detector pivotally mounted onthe con troller and having a rearwardlyextending portion to cooperate with, and detect the presence of yarn in the active shuttle, a. re-- silient device acting jointly on the controller and detector tomove said controller and detectorma horizontal plane towardthe surface to; be detected, and means defining a vertically inclined'plane up, whiclrsaid detector may slide while in contact with ,a denuded bobbin, said detectorwhen movingup the incline acting to leave the controller at rest in the path of the actuator to initiate replemshm'ent- I '9. In .a. weft detector forlooms, a regularly moving actuator, a controller therefor normally in the'path of the actuator, a side *shpping weft detector pivotally mounted on the controller, resilient devices yieldingly holding a detector and controller in rear position and operating to exert a force on said .controllerand detector having a horizontal component, said devices yielding forwardly when the detector engages asufiicient-supply .of weftto withdraw the controller from the path ofthe actuator, and an upwardly inclined surface along whichthe detector slides against the action of gravity atthe time of weft exhaustion without moving the controller pin against the action of the yielding devices. f. j. i

In testimony whereof we have hereunto affixed our signatures. I a I GEORGE FRECI-IETT; HERBERT W; OWEN. 

